As I am nearing the end of this internship the overwhelming question of my future is looming over me once again. What now? It is a serious question with a questionable answer. Honestly, it terrifies me the living day lights out of me and reminds me of the time that I remained unemployed after graduating. There is a lot of press about people on benefits and honestly I will tell you something about being on benefits: It is awful. You can put your violins away as I was lucky enough to gain this employment, which I believe will give me an advantage with going back in to the job market. My point is, personally I cannot imagine anyone having a good quality of life on benefits and it is not something I would like to return to. What next?
I suppose endless application forms and (hopefully) interviews. I can imagine reading that sentence you must think ‘What an awful attitude for job hunting’. There is a reason I have trepidation about going to interviews and it comes down to one question. The words may not always be the same but the foundation of the question is this:
“Do you come under the equality act of 2010?”
The way it should then go in an ideal world is . . .
“Yes.”
“Okay, would there be any adjustments needed in order to properly support you?”
However, not once has it been dealt like that. I should point out that it’s not always asked and that is perfectly reasonable. When asked it normally goes along the lines of this:
“Do you come under the equality act of 2010?”
“I do. I’m Dyslexic, Dyspraxic & Dysgraphic.”
There have been a number of different responses some far worse than others. I once experienced a member of a panel first ask the question in a sort of “Well you’re obviously not disabled are you?” tone. Which may I add many disabilities are invisible to the naked eye, a little bit of caution is always advised. I replied with yes. I was then met with a sigh and the follow up question of “Well, what disabilities do you have then?” This was the worst response by far.
Other responses have included “Really, i’d never have guessed?” while meant as a compliment it does make me feel very uneasy as it is highlighting the prejudice against the equality act in general. A more pleasant response was “Oh, okay can you tell me about each individual disability and how it affects you in the work place?”
However when I interviewed at Bats without Borders it was already one of the factors of the post and therefore I always felt completely at ease to come to work and the prejudice around the learning difficulties was not felt at all. This is an attitude that I personally feel is not shared by the rest of the job market and this unsettling fact makes me not want to return to the job market at all.
Will I be so lucky to meet this type of acceptance again? While I remain hopeful, I think it unlikely.
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